The do's and don'ts of using text message services

Best text marketing services

Text message services are there to help your business effectively source, retain and nurture customer relationships with the people that love your brand. Yet there are many developers, website owners and business people out there that have no idea how to use web SMS services the right way.

Using these SMS services incorrectly can harm your business! That's why today, we're detailing the do's and don'ts involved in using text message services.

The ultimate do's with text messaging

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Putting together a quality bulk SMS campaign is tricky, but there are always best practices that will help you achieve a successful result. Here are the main 'do's' when it comes to using valuable text message services.

• Do have a variety in your strategy! People don't want to receive the same old marketing trash from you every day. Mix it up - send notifications, updates, news, coupons and don't be afraid to test new ways to improve your clicks.

• Do track your metrics. All text message services can be tracked and analyzed, a crucial part of running an effective marketing campaign. Draw insights from these texts to streamline your marketing messages and improve customer retention.

• Do incentivize your customers. Customers want value when they sign up to your SMS list, which means that you need to provide them with exclusive levels of value - i.e. - coupons, specials, deals, offers and special early information for loyal customers.

• Stay away from 'marketing speak.' Try and be as human in your 160 character communications as possible. People don't want to be approached by a brand, they want to receive text messages that sound like they come from real people, in real situations.

The ultimate don'ts with text messaging

There are many 'Don'ts' involved with text message services that can result in unwanted strategy outcomes for your company. Avoid these, or risk losing many of your customers to text marketers that get it right by following the previous best practices.

• Don't send bulk SMS bursts to your customers at inappropriate times. Late night and early morning marketing are never welcome.

• Don't use your text message services to pester your clients into buying, less frequency, and more quality is the general rule.

• Don't harass your customers - a text once a week may even be too much, depending on your relationship. Track and measure them for the best results.

• Don't use text message services to taint your brand with slang, foul language or other prejudiced messages that no-one wants to hear.

• Don't forget to always include an opt-out button, and don't send messages to customers that have decided they don't want to be connected with you anymore.

These text message services are meant to enhance your business, not leave your customers feeling like they have been spammed so badly, they need to escape you. Good business with bulk SMS is about being considerate, even though many of your clients won't mind higher message frequencies if your content is different, valuable or interesting.

Use your text message services to seal the relationship that you have with your SMS list for the best results. Otherwise, your bad practices will drive them away, and all the possibilities that came along with SMS will be ruined because you failed to learn how to use it as a business owner, developer or website owner should.

For more on Clickatell Platform click here.